At the recent Nightclub & Bar Conference in Las Vegas I had the pleasure to attend a seminar lead by Georg Riedel. What a treat, not only did I learn first hand from a Master about fine glassware and how it enhances all types of spirits, but I learned how the Reidel family figured it all out. Said Greog to my question, “We’ve been doing this a long time”. And they have, the family run Austrian company has been making glass for 11 generations of Riedels, over 250 years.

The tasting ran through 5 glasses and three spirits. The glassware consisted of a plastic cup, and ordinary brandy snifter and a Riedel Scotch, Cognac and Tequila glass. The specialized glasses bring out the unique flavor profile of each spirit. The spirits we tasted were Patron Silver Tequila, Hennessy VSOP and Talisker 12 Year Single Malt Scotch.

We were first asked to try each spirit in the plastic cup, ok kinda blah. Not bad, but not great. Next came the brandy snifter supplied by the caterers. We were told this glass was designed to withstand being tossed against the wall, not for drinking fine cognac. The cognac was better in this glass than the plastic cup, but it is not much of a competition.

We then moved on to the Riedel glasses. Each is designed to bring our the unique flavors of the spirit. This is achieved through an combination of height, diameter and shape of the glass bowl. The height of the stem is purely aesthetic. First by trying cognac from each of the three glasses. It was incredible how the same Hennessy VSOP tasted in the three different glasses. Of course the most pleasing of the three samples came from the cognac glass. All the fruity goodness and none of the harsh alcohol were detected. We repeated the exercise with the Takisker and Patron with similar results each time.

Of course, your not going to use these for a cocktail, but for sipping the finer cognacs, single malt scotch and tequilas. However, if you enjoy drinking the fine spirits and want to experience then the way they were meant to be, invest in a set of Riedel glasses.

They’ve been doing this a long time.

Riedel Glas Austria

Buy Riedel Bar Glasses Here

This punch recipe is inspired by the Orange Punch served at Andrew Jackson’s inauguration in 1829, according to Eric Felten of the Wall Street Journal.

It was quite a rowdy crowd, and servers brought out buckets of the punch to lure the revelers out of the White House and on to the lawn.

Serve this to your own Inauguration Day party crowd on Jan. 20.

Inaugural Orange Punch

3 parts fresh orange juice
1 part fresh lemon juice
1 part mulled orange syrup
1 part dark rum
1 part cognac
2 parts soda water

Combine in a punch bowl with a large block of ice. Serve in punch cups with a little crushed ice, and give each glass a dash of Angostura bitters.

Mulled Orange Syrup

Combine 1 cup sugar with 1 cup water and heat to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Reduce heat to a low simmer. Add the peel from an orange and mulling spices (a couple of cinnamon sticks, some whole cloves and allspice berries). After 15 minutes, remove from heat and let it sit for several hours. Strain.

More Inauguration Day cocktail recipes
Having a Ball at the Inauguration, Wall Street Journal

Reader Jerry asks, How do you make an Apricot Stone Sour? So we did some digging and here’s what we found out about this cocktail. The Apricot Stone Sour is actually quite easy to make, equal parts of apricot brandy, orange juice and sweet & sour mix. Some recipes, however, do adjust the ingredients to accommodate different tastes. Sometime a bit more brandy sometime a bit less. Anyway, it’s a classic.

Jerry, thanks for asking!

Apricot Stone Sour

2 oz. Apricot Brandy
2 oz. Orange Juice
2 oz. Sweet & Sour Mix

Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Mix well and serve in a tall glass.

more Drink of the Week Cocktails

How to Make the Apricot Stone Sour Mixed Drink — powered by eHow.com

It isn’t Christmas without egg nog! This recipe requires a little extra work compared with some, but it’s worth it. It uses cream, bourbon and brandy — so it’s rich and packs a punch. You can substitute other liquors, such as another type of whiskey or rum.

Rich Bourbon-Brandy Egg Nog

8 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
2 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 cups milk
1 tbs. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. nutmeg (fresh-grated if possible)
1/2 cup bourbon
1/2 cup brandy

Separate two of the eggs. Whisk together six whole eggs, two egg yolks, sugar and salt. Heat two cups of the heavy cream with all of the milk over medium-low heat. Whisk in one cup of the milk-cream into the egg mixture. Then pour this into the rest of the milk-cream mixture and continue to cook, stirring until the mixture thickens — about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the stove and strain the through a fine-mesh sieve. Allow to cool for 10 minutes.

Add the vanilla, nutmeg, bourbon and brandy and stir. Beat two egg whites to soft peaks in a clean mixing bowl and fold them in. In a separate bowl, beat 1/2 cup cream to soft peaks and fold that in. Cover and refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour.

Then you’re done! Pour into a pitcher or bowl and garnish individual servings with nutmeg.

more holiday drinks

Nothing keeps you warm and cozy on a cold holiday night like a hot cocktail.

Evening Nectar

1 part Grey Goose L’Orange Vodka (orange-flavored vodka)
1/2 part orange brandy
1/2 part honey
3/4 parts hot water
1/2 part fresh lemon juice
1/2 part orange juice
Pinch star anise powder
Star anise for garnish

Combine the honey and hot water in a shaker, stir to dissolve honey. Add remaining ingredients and stir well. Strain into glass, and garnish with star anise.

more Hot Drinks
more Holiday Cocktails

Recipe and photo from Grey Goose

Bloody Black Currant Punch

1 1/4 cups brandy
1/4 cup sugar
4 cups black currant nectar
1 1/2 cups cold seltzer

Stir brandy and sugar in a large bowl. Add nectar; stir to combine. Refrigerate until cold, about 1 hour. Punch can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 3 days. Add seltzer just before serving.

This ghoulish Halloween punch recipe serves 6-8.

more Halloween Cocktails and Punches

The theme for Mixology Monday this month is 19th Century Cocktails. Living in San Francisco, naturally I was drawn to Pisco Punch. This famous cocktail came to be due to the large amount of Pisco available after the Gold Rush.

What is Pisco? It is a grape brandy from Peru. Just like French brandies, varieties range from rot gut to super premium. The main difference is that Pisco is aged, but not in barrels, rather ceramic or metal. The resulting spirit is clear.

So with all this potent Pisco around it became quite popular in San Francisco. This prompted owner, Duncan Nicol, of the Bank Exchange to create Pisco Punch a mix Pisco, pineapple juice, lime juice, simple syrup and Gum Arabic, and ingredient that helps it fizz. Unfortunately, the original recipe went to the grave with Ducan and Prohibition closed the bar. So there are several variations of the recipe as bartenders try to recreate the original.

This recipe comes to us from the makers of Inca Gold Pisco. I had the pleasure to meet the proprietor, who schooled me on the history of Pisco and Pisco Punch. In fact, he believes that San Francisco should make Pisco Punch our civic cocktail. With so many cocktails, like the Martini, I am staying out of politics.

Pisco Punch

3 parts Premium Pisco
2 parts pineapple juice
1 part lime juice
1 part simple syrup
3-4 drops Gum Arabic

Mix all ingredients thoroughly in a shaker with ice. Pour into a punch or tall glass and garnish with pineapple.

For a party, make a batch in a large punch bowl. Just use the same proportions.

Mixology Monday XXXI

Looking for Gum Arabic? This gum syrup from Small Hand Foods does the trick.